


The Snowflakes On Your Nose

by kereia



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Snowball Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-15 13:03:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13613937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kereia/pseuds/kereia
Summary: The resistance is hiding out on Raxus II. Rey is trying to come to terms with what happened during TLJ. Finn is worried.Neither of them expects a snowball fight to settle anything, but sometimes a little laughter and a little mischief are more helpful than conversations.





	The Snowflakes On Your Nose

**Author's Note:**

  * For [interabang](https://archiveofourown.org/users/interabang/gifts).



Finn stepped out of the transport hanger and onto the frozen wasteland that was Raxus II. The snowstorm that had pummelled the resistance base for the past two days had abated with the rising sun, and they'd spend most of the day clearing the airfield and shovelling the snow into the water purifiers to fill up their supply tanks.

Rey had begged off some time after their hasty midday meal to work on the Millenium Falcon. The ship had taken a beating on Crait, and she wanted to finish repairs as soon as possible in case the First Order found them, and they had to run again.

She'd been withdrawn since she'd told them about what had happened both on Ahch-To and on board of the Supremacy. Finn had tried to broach the subject once or twice, but she didn't want to talk about it anymore than she already had. He respected that.

Still, he felt an odd sort of pressure inside his chest, a sympathetic ache perhaps, whenever the shadows gathered behind her eyes and a  _—_ by now familiar  _—_ pensive look settled on her face.

 _You're worried about her_ , a voice in the back of his mind supplied.

He could not deny it. He'd begun to suspect that the repairs on her ship where as much a necessity as a pretext for Rey to be alone with her thoughts. Usually he would not intrude, but the temperature had dropped even further now that the sky had cleared, and Rey had been out alone in the cold for hours.

He wanted to check up on her.

 _Just play it cool_ , he reminded himself. _Don't push, keep it casual._

Friends looked out for each other, after all.

Rubbing his hands against the cold, Finn zipped up his jacket and jogged across the airfield. He found Rey lying on a scaffold beneath the laser canons.

Her cheeks and nose were red from the cold but judging from the look of intense concentration on her face, she was hardly aware of the sub-zero temperatures.

“Hey, there,” he greeted her and leaned against the vertical support bar. “Everything okay? You've been out here for a while.”

A smile ghosted across her face as she glanced at him. “Yes, I'm almost done with this calibration module.” She patted the plating around the blaster gas chamber with an air of fondness. “And then she'll be as good as new. Can you hand me that Harris wrench, please?” She strained her fingers towards the assembly of tools next to her calf.

He gave it to her. His skin burned from the cold where it touched the metal, and he was relieved to see that Rey was wearing gloves, fingerless and threadbare as they might be. He frowned.

“Did you really need to do this today?” he asked.

She only hummed in affirmation and twisted the wrench.

“Out here? In the cold?”

“Yep.”

“The _freezing_ cold?” he asked, and the mild irritation in his voice finally caught her attention. She turned her head to look at him. Rising onto her elbows, she glanced at his attire.

“You know, there are these thing... I'm not sure if you've heard of them. They're called fur coats, and they keep you all warm and insulated when you go outside.” She pointed to the coat wrapped around her own body with a smile that held both censure and affection.

Feeling a little flushed, Finn cleared his throat. “Oh, I'm not worried about me. No. My body is a furnace.”

He nodded decisively, while the voice inside his head gave a derisive snort. “Yeah. If I take a few deep breaths, I can melt the snow off this entire air field. No problem.” _Oh, for the love of all that is holy,_ _s_ _top talking._

She gave him an amused look.

“No, I'm just worried about you catching a cold. I don't want you to sneeze, and, you know... accidentally blow up your ship or anything.”

Her eyebrows rose, and Finn got the distinct impression that she was trying not to grin. It made him even more flustered.

“Or me,” he babbled on. “I might be a little worried about...”

His brain finally caught up to his mouth and he stopped.

“...me blowing you up by sneezing?” she asked, amusement heavy in her voice.

He shrugged. “Or throwing me against a hanger wall, or something.”

She laughed. “That's not really how the Force works.”

“Yeah, okay.” He tilted his head to the side and pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants. “That's good to know.”

“It takes a lot of...” she paused, an odd look passing across her face. “A lot of...” she tried again, but stopped and covered the lower part of her face with her hand.

“Rey?” he asked, concern instantly flooding his voice.

“Oh, damn.” She cursed and wrinkled her nose.

“What is it?”

He stepped closer. Reached for her.

She frantically waved a hand in front of her face and sucked in a halting breath. “Oh, why did you have to say anything about sneezing?” she groused.

Her face scrunched up, and her eyes closed.

Alarm rising, he braced himself. “Rey!”

The snowball hit him squarely in the face.

He froze.

Their eyes met.

Rey bit her lip.

Slowly – deliberately – he lifted his hand and wiped his face. “You. Did. Not.”

She laughed.

In a flash, he bent down, scooping up enough snow to retaliate. Rey rolled off the scaffolding and made a run for it. His first salvo hit her back.

* * * * *

They ran across the airfield, dodging and weaving between ships and loading crates, taking cover behind mountains of shovelled up snow and the irritated service droids that moved between them. Rey's laughter rang out across the field as she scored a hit against his shoulder. She ducked beneath the wing of a freighter, but Finn aimed his next shot over the top, and the snowball hit her head as she came out on the other end.

She cursed and shook it's remnants out of her hair.

Realizing that she would never be able to outrun him across open ground, she veered around the ship's tail and looked for cover. She could hear him hot on her heels, and he was getting closer. To distract him, she turned and swept her hand into the snow on top of the ship's hull, putting just a little bit of the Force behind it. A shower of powdered snow cascaded of the ferroceramic, thick enough to obscure her from his view.

With a smile, she dashed off towards the dilapidated tool sheds that framed the northern side of the airfield.

She had just enough time to gather up more snow, before Finn came running out of the billowing white cloud. To her consternation, he had not been idle, but had used her distraction against her. Shielded from her view as she had been from his, he had stocked up on snowballs, packing them into his pockets and cradling half a dozen in the crook of his arm.

It would not be fair to use the Force again. But she really, really wanted to.

Packing the snow tightly between her hands, she aimed and threw it at the arsenal he cradled against his chest.

Finn sidestepped.

 _Should have used the Force,_ she chided herself as he grinned at her.

A moment later, she found herself on the receiving end of his counter-assault. Laughing, she fended off his volleys as best as she could.

Something inside her eased, unwound.

She took a deep breath and looked at Finn, warmth unfurling in her chest.

It felt good to be… Home?

She paused as the word rose inside her mind.

 _But it seems to fit_ , she thought, and it felt as if a missing puzzle piece slotted into place.

Home was not always a place. Sometimes, it was a person.

 _It feels true_.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this carefree, almost giddy. _Have I ever?_ she wondered as she slipped around a loading crate, running full tilt and almost colliding with a droid. She caught herself and tried to veer around it, but by then Finn had caught up.

He almost barrelled into her, but threw himself to the side at the last second. Looping an arm around her waist, he pulled her with him as he careened into the shed's wall. He hit the wood with a muffled groan, his body a buffer against the impact.

Breathing hard, Rey turned in his embrace. “Are you okay?” she asked her cheeks flushed, her eyes alight.

He tried to answer, but from above them came a crunching, sliding sound. There was no time to look up or even brace themselves. Before either of them could react, the snow that had accumulated on the sloped roof crashed down on top of them.

Rey closed her eyes and leaned further into him, pushing his body against the wall as his arms curved above her head in an effort to shield her from the avalanche. Moments later, they blinked at each other, matching grins on their faces, breath mingling with the cold air. They were buried up to their knees.

Reaching out, she brushed snow off his shoulder, while he did the same to the top of her head. She wrinkled her nose at him, flicked snow flakes off his own, her touch lingering against his cheek.

Her gaze turned soft.

Finn held his breath as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss that was over before it really started.

When she withdrew, there was a tender, almost shy, smile on her face.

“Is this okay?” she asked softly.

A smile lit up his eyes. “Yes, it is,” he replied cupping her face between his palms. He leaned in, rubbing the tip of his nose against hers. “It's more than okay.” He leaned in and slanted his mouth against hers.

Suddenly, the day didn't seem as cold anymore.

 

 

 


End file.
